On September 17, Binance addressed the ongoing issues facing the Indian cryptocurrency exchange WazirX in a comprehensive statement.
Binance clarified that misleading comments made by WazirX co-founder Nischal Shetty implied the exchange was accountable for the $235 million hack that occurred in July, which affected WazirX users. Binance deemed these assertions as “outrageously misleading.”
Furthermore, Binance emphasized that it has never had ownership or control over WazirX at any time, stating:
“Their attempts to shift responsibility is a disappointing deflection tactic; however, it should not distract from the critical issue at hand: the necessity for the WazirX team to be held accountable for the user funds managed under their supervision.”
Clarifying Ownership
In their detailed post, Binance reiterated that it does not own WazirX, despite prior negotiations to acquire the exchange.
The exchange explained:
“Binance never acquired or controlled WazirX. Although a contract had been signed between the parties, the transaction was never finalized due to Zettai’s failure to meet its obligations.”
Currently, WazirX is owned by Zanmai Labs Pvt Ltd, which is registered with Indian regulators. Zanmai operates as a subsidiary of Zettai, a Singapore-based entity controlled by Shetty.
In light of this, Binance dismissed Shetty’s claims that creditors of Zettai could seek compensation from the platform led by Richard Teng.
“There is no legal justification for the assertion that Binance would be liable for claims against Zettai. Any suggestion to the contrary is incorrect.”
Binance also acknowledged its previous role in providing technical solutions and support for WazirX. However, it denied any liability regarding the hack, clarifying that Shetty and Zettai selected Liminal as a custody provider without Binance’s involvement after WazirX’s funds were withdrawn from its platform.
Moreover, Binance mentioned it was never included in WazirX’s user agreements and has repeatedly requested the removal of any references to its name from those agreements, which have been ignored by Shetty and Zanmai.
Lack of Communication from WazirX
Despite attempting to assist the WazirX team, Binance reported that its efforts have gone unreciprocated.
According to Binance, it has not been able to independently verify details regarding the hack as its requests for incident reports have gone unanswered. The exchange stated:
“We have reached out to the WazirX team for their reports on the incident, including all internal documents and the so-called report from Mandiant dated August 14, 2024, which outlines the cause of the attack and the amount of user funds affected, but have yet to receive a response.”
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